Apparatus for dispensing cloth towels



Sept. 29, 1953 H, E. DOSBERG 2,653,693

APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING CLOTH TOWELS Filed Feb. 24. 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR.

Sept. 29, 1953 r H. E. DOSBERG 2,653,693

' APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING CLOTH TOWELS Filed Feb. 24, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

Sept. 29, 1953 H. E. DOSBERG 2,653,693

APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING CLOTH TOWELS Filed Feb. 24. 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 p 1953 H. E. DOSBERG 2,653,693

APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING CLOTH TOWELS Filed Feb. 24. 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 1 VENTOR.

BY W Patented Sept. 29, 1953 APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING CLOTH TOWELS Harry E. Dosberg, Egg

ertsville, N. Y., assignor to Ilao Products Corporation, Buffalo, N. Y., a.

corporation of New York Application February 24, 1949, Serial No. 78,093

9 Claims. I

This invention relates to apparatus for dispensing cloth towels and more particularly to apparatus for dispensing individual cloth towels one at a time from the top of a pile of such towels, the dispensing apparatus being articularly applicable for use in factories where such towels are supplied to the workers.

This application is a continuation in part of my copending application Serial No. 729,376, filed February 18, 1947, now Patent No. 2,572,121, for Apparatus for Dispensing Towels, and which is actuated by the return of a soiled towel thrown into an opening in the dispenser so as to insure the return of a soiled towel for each clean towel dispensed and thereby minimize the loss of towels.

In common with my said application, important objects of the present invention are to provide such a dispensing apparatus which will operate in conjunction with a pile of individual cloth towels and which will reliably deliver one towel at a time which will not be affected the condition of the towels, that is, whether the towels are new, patched, or worn threadbare; which opcrates rapidly so that a single dispenser can be used to serve a large group of workers; which will not injur the towels being dispensed; which serves as a pilfer-proof receptacle for the soiled and cleaned towels; in which the workers are not required to handle anything but the towels themselves to actuate the apparatus; which is quiet in operation; and which is simple, inexpensive, and stands up under conditions of severe and constant use without getting out of order or requiring repairs.

With the apparatus forming the subject of my said patent application, it was found that it could be operated by throwing a crumpled mass of waste paper, a block of wood or the like into the opening designed to receive a soiled towel. This partially defeated the principal object of the apparatus which was to dispense a fresh towel only upon the return of a soiled towel. Accordingly, a specific object of the present invention is to provide such apparatus which can only be operated by throwing into the apparatus a limp piece of cloth made of soft woven fibers and in particular will not be operated by a wad of waste paper, a block of wood or anything not having the characteristics of a used towel.

Also in the apparatus forming the subject of my said patent application, soiled towels would pile up in a pyramid in the soiled towel compart ment, thereby requiring a larger compartment to hold the same amount of soiled towels. A specific object of the present invention is to provide means for distributing the soiled towels thrown into the apparatus so that they are piled uniformly throughout the same and thereby permit the apparatus to be provided with a smaller uscd towel compartment as compared with the structure shown in my said patent application.

Another object of the present invention is to simplify, as compared with the structure shown in my said patent application, the mechanism for indexing the height of the arm which strips the uppermost towel from the pile offresh towels, this indexing being necessary in order that the stripper arm follow th progressively descending height of the pile of fresh towels.

Other specific objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following description and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a diminutive perspective view of the cabinet housing the towel dispenser embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken through the upper part of the cabinet shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical, fragmentary fore-and-aft section taken on line 33, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on line ii-d, Fig. 3 looking upwardly.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on line 5-5, Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on line 6-5, Fig. i. Fig. '7 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal section through the casing for the towel stripper mechanism, this section being taken generally on line 1-1, Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical section taken generally on line 8-8, Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a vertical fragmentary section taken on line S-9, Fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is adiagram showing the path followed by the stripping or dispensing member in strip ping the uppermost towel from a stack of towels and delivering the same to the receiver.

Fig. 11 is a wiring diagram of the electrical components of the apparatus.

The towel dispenser is shown as embodied in a casing I 0 which can be of any suitable form and which encloses the operating mechanism as well as being a receiver for the fresh and soiled towels. The front wall of this cabinet or casing is shown as having in its upper part a door i2 provided with a lock 13 through which access can be to the upper part of the cabinet and also as hav-- ing a door l4 provided with a lock 55 through which access can be had to the lower part of the cabinet. The upper door 62 permits oi replenishment of the supply of fresh towels and the door it permits of the removal of the soiled towels, and both doors provide ready access to the operating mechanism, to permit repair or adjustment thereof.

A horizontal partition or shelf 56 is provided within the cabinet between the two doors [2 and it and about midway of the height thereof, this shelf carrying a pile l! of the individual cloth towels l3 which the apparatus dispenses.

Slightly below the level of the partition 16 and intermediate the doors l2 and M, the front wall of the cabinet is provided with a horizontal opening is and in this opening is arranged a receiver 2!. This receiver is shown as comprising a curved sheet of metal 22 which is arranged both on the interior and exterior of the cabinet, the inner extremity of this sheet of metal terminating at the inner edge of an opening 23 provided in the partition I at its front end. The sides of the receiver 2i are formed by sheet metal side walls 24 which are secured to the opposite curved edges of the curved metal sheet 22 and also are secured to the partition 16 adjacent the side edges of the opening 23 therein. It will be seen that a towel l8 removed from the top of the pile IT and flung toward the opening 23 in the partition as will be accessible to the user, it being merely necessary for the user to reach into the receiver 2i and seize the towel.

The towels are stripped, one at a time, from the top of the pile I1 and for this purpose a stripping or dispensing mechanism, indicated generally at 25 is provided, this mechanism also including an indexing member whereby the dispensing or stripping arm is always held at the ri ht height to engage and dispense the uppermost towel of the pile. This dispensing mechanism includes a rectangular casing comprising a bottom wall 26, side walls 28 and 29, and end walls 33 and 3!, the casing being shown as enclosed by a removable cover 32. To the exterior of each of the end walls 30, 3! is secured a generally square block 33, each of these blocks being secured at its four corners by four bolts on the outer end of each of which a grooved roller 35 is rotatably mounted. Each group of these rollers 35 engages the edge of a vertical track 36. These tracks are arranged in parallel relation at one side of the casing and are shown as secured at their lower ends by a pair or brackets 33 carried by the horizontal partition or shelf l6 and at its upper end one of these tracks is secured to an angle bar 39 extending across the front of the casing near the top wall thereof and the other vertical track is secured to a bracket it secured to a fore-and-aft metal strap 5i. This strap AI is secured at its front end to the transverse front angle bar as and at its rear end to a cross plate 42 which extends across the interior of the cabinet at the. rear end thereof near its top wall.

Means are provided for partly counterbalancing the weight of the dispensing mechanism 25 and to this end a pulley i3 is carried by the foreand-aft strap il above the center of the dispensing mechanism 25 and a pulley A l is suspended from the cross plate 62. The cover 32 is provided with an upstanding bracket or eye 45 to which is secured a counterweight cable it, this cable extending over the pulley 3 and lid and having a counterweight 8 at its opposite end.

The dispensing mechanism 2-5 is always main" tained at the proper elevation, regardless of the height of the pile ll of towels, to strip the uppermost towel l8 therefrom. For this purpose an indexing arm 56 is adjustably secured to the end wall 3! of the dispensing mechanism casing, this arm comprising a horizontal end 5! inserted into the horizontal bore of a holder 52 and adjustably held against rotation therein by a, set screw 53. The intermediate part 54 of the indexing arm is arranged at right angles to its attaching portion 51 and its outer end is arranged parallel with this attaching portion 5i so that this arm is generally crank shaped. This arm is disposed in a generally horizontal plane and its outer end carries a roller 55 which rests upon the uppermost towel 13 of the pile ll of these towels. It will be seen that the height of the dispensing mechanism 25 relative to the height of the pile I? of towels can be readily adjusted by loosening the set screw 53 and adjusting the relative height of the indexing roller 55 in relation to this dispensing mechanism 25.

The dispensing mechanism 25 includes a solenoid 53 having laminations 59 and vertical side plates as, each of these side plates being provided with vertical flanges fit along its front and rear edges. One pair of these vertical flanges 5! is secured to the casing end wall 39 by the same group of four bolts 34 which mount the corresponding square block 33 and rollers 35. The opposite flanges 6! are secured at their lower ends by a pair of bolts 52 to an angle bar 63 secured to the bottom wall 26 of the enclosing casing and extending transversely thereof. The movable core 64 of this solenoid is secured by a pair of links 65 and 65 to the central portion of a sweep arm 68, the connection between this sweep arm 68 and the link 56 being through a vertical pivot pin 63. The core as is normal- 1y held in its extended position shown in Figs. 7 and 8 by a helical tension spring 7e connecting the pivot pin 69 with the end wall 31 of the easing. One end of the sweep arm 68 is pivotally connected to a screw eye ll fastened to the wall 28 of the casing, this connection being such as to permit both vertical and horizontal movement of the sweep arm. The other end of this sweep arm 68 extends through a slot '12 in the wall 29 of the casing and projects outwardly from the casing to a position above the pile ll of the towels. At its outer end this sweep arm 88 carries a dispensing member indicated generally at 73.

As best shown in Figs. '7 and 9 this dispensing member 13 is in the form of an elongated block it secured to a pair ofears id at the end of the sweep arm 68 to extend tranversely and having a convex under face to which is secured a facing F8 having a plurality of short needle-like bristles l8 projecting downwardly therefrom. These bristles are sufiiciently long to interengage with the fibers oi the uppermost towel I8 of the pile of towels H to strip this towel oil the pile.

Stops are provided for limiting the movement of the sweep arm 68 in both directions, particularly in its movement, when the solenoid. 53 is energized, toward the recei er 21 to jar and shake the towel from the bristles l8 and to fling the towel into the receiver. In this operative movement of the sweep arm 68 caused by the energization of the solenoid 58, this stop is provided by the cushioned head of a spring loaded bumper pin which is mounted for sliding movement in the direction of impact from the sweep arm 68 in the arms of a U-shaped bracket which is attached to the wall 29 adjacent the corresponding end of the slot I2. In the return direction of the sweep arm 68, this stop is provided by a resilient pad 82 fast to a bumper plate 83 which is in turn welded or otherwise suitably secured to the side wall 29 at the opposite end of the slot 72. Instead of having direct engagement between the sweep arm 68 and these stops 80, 82, these stops are preferably engaged by a roller 84 mounted on the sweep arm 68, the sweep arm having for this purpose an upstanding arm 85 on which this roller 84 is mounted.

A track and switch are provided for guiding the sweep arm 68 to cause the dispensin member I3 to follow the path shown in Fig. 10. To this end a track bar 88 is secured to the bottom 26 of the casing by a pair of bolts 89 and 90 extending through its opposite ends, this track bar being arranged against the side wall 29 of this casing under the slot 12. As viewed in Fig. 8, the right hand end of this track bar 88 is at a low elevation and from this end the track bar inclines upwardly to its elevated left hand end. The sweep arm 68 rests on and is guided by this track bar, having for this purpose a depending strut or leg 9I carried by an outboard roller 92 riding on this track bar. In riding up the incline of this tracl: bar 88, this roller passes under and lifts the free end of a track switch 93. This track switch is supported by a pivot pin 94 secured to the side wall 29 of the casing and which projects across the track bar 88 so that the free end of this tracl: switch 93 is normally in engagement with the elevated end of the track 88 and is capable of rising to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 8. A helical tension spring 95 yieldingly holds the free end of the track switch 93 down against the elevated end of the track bar 88, as shown by full lines in Fig. 8. While this helical re turn spring 95 passes through the track bar 88, it will be understood that this is not in the path of movement of the roller 92 carrying the sweep arm 68.

A feature of the invention resides in the necessity for returning a soiled towel in order to obtain a fresh towel. To this end the front wall of the cabinet I0 is provided with an opening 98 in its upper right hand end as viewed in Fig. 1, this opening leading to the upper end of an inclined tubular chute 99, the upper end of which is fastened to the rear of the front wall of the casing I0 in register with this opening 98. This chute inclines rearwardly and downwardly from the opening 95 along the corresponding side wall thereof and. at the approximate center of the casing is provided with a vertical leg I00 which extends down and is secured to the horizontal partition I6 in register with an opening IOI therethrough.

Below this opening I0! an inclined chute I02 is secured in any suitable manner to the underside of the horizontal partition I6, this chute comprising a pair of triangular end walls I03 connected along a corresponding pair of edges by an inclined bottom wall I04, this bottom inclining downwardly toward the center of the casing and toward the open side I of the chute. The towels thrown into the opening 98 thereby pass through the inclined and vertical legs 89 and IE0 of the tubular chute and through the opening IOI onto the inclined bottom wall I 04 of the chute I02 and are directed thereby toward the center of the compartment I 05 in the bottom of the casing I0. The soiled towels are removed from this compartment through the door I4.

In sliding down over the lower edge of the inclined bottom I04 of the chute I02 the soiled towel engages the curved tines I08 secured to a rock shaft I09. As best shown in Figs. 3-6, this rock shaft is arranged below and parallel with the lower edge of the inclined bottom wall I04 of the chute I02 and is supported in a pair of bearings IIO each of which is mounted for vertical adjustment at the lower end of a vertical screw III. For such adjustment each of these screws is provided with a pair of nuts H2 which engage opposite sides of a supporting bracket II3. It will be seen that either end of the rock shaft I09 can be adjusted up or down with reference to the horizontal edge of the chute bottom I04 by adjustment of the corresponding pair of nuts I I2.

The tines I68 curve upwardly so that their pointed ends are in the path of and oppose the movement of the soiled towel from the horizontal edge of the chute bottom I04. Accordingly these tines catch in the fibers of each passing cloth towel and the towel rocks the rock shaft I09 clockwise as viewed in Fig. 6. After the towel has passed, the rock shaft I09 and its tines R58 are returned to normal position by a depending counterweight ild secured to the rock shaft. This counterweight is shown as carri d at the lower end of a rod H5 fast to a rectangular block IIB secured to one end of the rock shaft W9. A stop is provided to insure the return of the rock shaft and tines to normal position, this stop being shown as comprising an upstanding finger I I8 on the rectangular block I I6 and which engages the corresponding side of the adjacent bearing I It) when the rock shaft and its tines are returned to normal by the counterweight H4.

Mounted on one end of the rock shaft I89 is a sheet metal bracket I20 which carries a pair of electric switches I2I and I22. Each of these switches is in the form of an elongated glass capsule containing a globule of mercury which, on tipping the capsule in a corresponding direction, rolls into engagement with a pair of electrical contacts extending through the glass capsule. The capsules are generally radially disposed with reference to the rock shaft Ill-9 and in the normal position of the rock shaft the globules of mercury are disposed at the dead ends of the capsules. The capsules are also arranged slightly out of phase with each other, that is, at different angles, so that the switch IZI closes slightly in advance of the switch I22 when the rock shaft I99 is actuated as previously described.

This switch IZI, as shown in the wiring diagram, Fig. 11, has one of its contacts connected with one side I24 of a main power line and its other contact connected through a wire I25 with a motor I25 the other terminal of which is connected with the other side I28 of the main power line. The delayed switch I22 has one of its contacts connected with the side I23 of the main power line and its other contact connected, through a line I29, with the winding of the solenoid 58, the other end of this winding being connected to the other side I28 of the main power line. It will be seen that when the rock shaft I09 is actuated by a passing towel the mercury switches I2I and I22 are progressively actuated to first energize the motor I25 and then the solenoid 58.

The motor I25 is carried by hangers I353 so that its shaft I8! is vertically disposed, the hangers I39 being suspended from the horizontal partition or shelf I6 and being arranged adjacent the chute F2. The lower end of the motor shaft it! carries a double bladed impeller I32, this impeller sweeping below the horizontal discharge edge of the chute bottom its and serving to engage the soiled towels delivered by the chute Hi2 and fling them around so as to distribute them uniformly around the soiled towel compartment its instead of permitting them to build up in a pyramid.

In the operation of the towel dispenser the user reaches into the forwardly projecting part of the receiver 2! and removes a fresh towel therefrom. After using the towel he throws the soiled towel through the opening 98 into the inclined leg 99 of the tubular chute. The soiled towel passes through the vertical leg Hit of this chute onto the inclined bottom its of the chute 182. On sliding off the lower horizontal edge of this inclined chute bottom its, the fibers of the soiled cloth towel engage the tines its on the rock shaft Hi9 and rock this rock shaft in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 6 against the urging of its counterweight H6. The tines Hi8 swing to release the soiled towel, the counterweight returning the rock shaft I69 and its tines N38 to their normal position determined by the stop 1 Hi.

This rocking of the rock shaft its serves initially to close the mercury switch i2: mounted radially thereon, the glass capsule of this switch rocking so that the globule of mercury therein rolls into engagement with its two contacts. This establishes a circuit from the side E24 of the main power line, wire E25, and motor I26 to the other side I28 of the main power line. The energization of the motor i26 causes its impeller H32 to revolve and since at this time the soiled towel is sliding over the horizontal discharge edge of the inclined chute bottom i534, the soiled towel is struck by the impeller l32 and forcibly flung across the soiled towel compartment tilt. Since the impeller E32 comes to rest at dilferent positions the effect of this impeller is to distribute the soiled towels uniformly around the soiled towel compartment Hi6 and thereby prevent the towels from building up in a pyramid and thereby be wasteful of space and require a larger soiled towel compartment to be provided to accommodate the same quantity of soiled towels.

The further rocking of the rock shaft Hit by engagement of the returned soiled towel with its tines H18 closes the mercury switch H22, the globule of mercury in the glass capsule of this switch rolling into engagement with its contacts. This establishes a circuit from the side G24 of the main power line, closed mercury switch I22, wire 29 and winding of relay 53 to the other side I28 of the main power line.

This energization of the solenoid 58 draws its core 6 inwardly thereby, through the linkage 55 and 66, rapidly moving the sweep arm '3 toward the left as viewed in Fig. '7 and against the resistance of its return spring it. The sweep arm 38' is at this time arranged with the bristles is of its dispensing member is in interengaging contact with the uppermost towel E8 of the pile of fresh towels H and it will therefore be seen that the horizontal movement of the sweep arm 68 through power derived from the solenoid 58 effects a horizontal action of the dispensing member '13 against the uppermost towel i3 and which tends to strip this uppermost towel from the pile ll of fresh towels. However, such stripping of the uppermost towel is from the top of the pile ii also requires an upwardly inclined movement of the dispensing member it in travelling from right to left as viewed in Fig. '7. To effect such inclined movement the sweep arm 58 is supported by the roller 92 which rides on the track bar 88 and this track bar is inclined so that in its horizontal dispensing movement the dispensing member is also moves upwardly. This path of movement of the dispensing member is indicated by the lower curve of Fig. 10.

The solenoid 58, when energized, moves the sweep arm 68 at a high rate of speed in so causing the dispensing member '53 to follow the path indicated by the lower curve of Fi 10. This movement is abruptly stopped by engagement of the roller of the sweep arm 68 with the head of the spring loaded stop pin 8%. fhis stop pin is arranged to stop the sweep arm 58 at-the left hand end of the path shown in Fig. 1 0 and in this position (Fig. 2) the dispensing member is is arranged over the opening 23 below which the receiver 2! is arranged. The fresh towel stripped from the top of the pile ii is therefore swept over the receiver 2i and the abrupt stopping of the sweep arm 68 by the spring loaded stop pin 83 serves to violently release the towel from the birstles it of the dispensing member is and fling this towel into the receiver 2!. This towel is available for the next user, which is the condition assumed at the start of the description of the operation of the dispenser.

It is necessary to return the dispensing member 13 into engagement with the now uppermost towel E8 of the pile H for a repetition of its stripping operation. To this end the solenoid 58 is de-energized as soon as the soiled towel releases itself from the tines Hit of the rock shaft 239 and permits this rock shaft to return to its normal position under the influence of its counterweight i is. This return movement of the rock shaft it opens both of the switches EM and lZZ thereby to de-energize the motor H25 and the solenoid 58. When the solenoid is deenergized, the return spring iii draws the sweep arm 88 to the right as viewed in Fig. 7. However, this sweep arm is prevented from riding down the track bar 88 by the track switch 93. Instead the roller 92 which supports this sweep arm rides up on the track switch 9?; and over the pivoted end thereof, falling into engagement with the depressed end of the track bar 88. In the return movement of the sweep arm 68, the dispensing member 13 is therefore caused to follow the upper curve of Fig. 10. It will be seen that in this movement the dispensing member 13 is held out of engagement with the uppermost towel [8 of the pile ll until the very end of its return path, at which time it is dropped in a substantially vertical direction into engagement with this uppermost towel. This vertical drop of the dispensing member is also serves to insure interengagement of the bristles "2'8 of the dispensing member with the fibers of the uppermost towel so as to insure reliable stripping of this towel from the top of the pile ii the next time a soiled towel is thrown down the tubular chute 99, Hill.

An important feature of the invention resides in indexing the elevation of the stripper mechanism relative to the height of the pile il of towels; this being effected by the simple expedient of mounting the stripper mechanism in the casing or box 263l and supporting this box by the crank-shaped arm Eli and indexing roller 55 from the top of the pile of towels, such support being assisted by the counterweight 48. As the height of the pile ll of fresh towels lowers, the dispensing mechanism supported on this pile by the indexing roller 55, likewise lowers so that the dispensing member 13 is always held at the correct elevation to interengage and strip the uppermost towel it from the pile ll of fresh towels.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention provides a very simple and sturdy mechanism for rapidly and reliably delivering a fresh towel in return for a soiled towel and in particular accomplishes the specific objects set forth in a simple and effective manner.

I claim:

1. A receiver for soiled towels and the like, comprising a casing forming a compartment for soiled towels, said casing having an inlet opening in one wall thereof through which soiled towels are thrown from the exterior of said casing into said compartment, a member movably mounted in said casing in the path of the soiled towels so thrown from the exterior of said casing into said compartment and moved by each passing towel, a distributing member movably mounted in said casing in the path of the soiled towels so thrown from the exterior of said casing into said compartment and at a point to engage said soiled towels subsequent to the engagement of said soiled towels with said first movably mounted member and to fiing said soiled towels around said compartment, and means arranged to actuate said distributing member in response to the movement of said first movably mounted memher.

2. A receiver for articles, comprising a casing forming a compartment for said articles, said casing having an outlet opening in one wall thereof, and said casing also having an inlet opening in one wall thereof through which said articles are thrown from the exterior of said easing into said compartment, a member movably mounted in said casing in the path or" the articles so thrown from the exterior or" said easing into said compartment, a distributing member movably mounted in said casing in the path of the articles so thrown from the exterior of said easing into said compartment and at a point to engage said articles subsequent to the engagement of said articles with said first movably mounted member and to fling said articles around said compartment, and means arranged to actuate said distributing member in response to the movement of said first movably mounted member.

3. A receiver for soiled towels and the like, comprising a casing forming a compartment for soiled towels, said casing having an inlet opening in one wall thereof through which soiled towels are thrown from the exterior of said casing into said compartment, a member movably mounted in said casing in the path of the soiled towels so thrown from the exterior of said casing into said compartment and moved by each passing towel, a distributing impeller rotatably mounted in said casing in the path of the soiled towels so thrown from the exterior of said easing into said compartment and at a point to engage said soiled towels subsequent to the engagement of said soiled towels with said movably mounted memher, an electric motor driving said impeller, and means arranged to energize momentarily said motor in response to the movement of said movably mounted member.

4. A receiver for articles, comprising a casing forming a compartment for said articles, said casing having an outlet opening in one wall thereof and said casing also having an inlet opening in one wall thereof through which said articles are thrown from the exterior oi said casing into said compartment, a member movably mounted in said casing in the path of the articles so thrown from the exterior of said easing into said compartment, a distributing impeller rotatably mounted in said casing in the path of the articles so thrown from the exterior of said easing into said compartment and at a point to engage said articles subsequent to the engagement of said articles with said movably mounted member, an electric motor driving said impeller, and means arranged to energize said electric motor momentarily in response to the movement of said movably mounted member.

5. Apparatus for dispensing individual cloth towels one at a time from a pile of clean towels, comprising a casing for said pile of towels and forming a compartment for soiled towels, said casing having an outlet opening in one wall thereof, a chute leading from an inlet opening in said casing and having an inclined bottom well over which soiled towels thrown into said inlet opening slide from said chute into said compartment, a tine movably mounted with its pointed end arranged adjacent the lower edge or" said inclined bottom wall and in the path of and opposing the soiled towel sliding therefrom vhereby said tine is moved by each passing soiled towel, a dispensing mechanism arranged to dispense one towel at a time from said pile toward said outlet opening, a distributing impeller -otatably mounted in the path of the soiled towels sliding from said inclined bottom wall and en gaging said soiled towels subsequent to the engagement of said soiled towels with said tine, an electric motor driving said impeller, and means arranged to actuate said dispensing mechanism and to energize momentarily said motor in r sponse to the movement of said tine.

6. In apparatus for dispensing articles one at a time from a pile of said articles and having a casing for said pile of articles and forming a compartment for used articles, said casing having an outlet opening in one wall thereof, a dispensing mechanism arranged to dispense one article at a time from said pile toward said outlet opening, and a chute leading from an inlet opening in said casing and having an inclined bottom wall over which articles thrown into said inlet opening slide from said chute into said compartment, the combination therewith of means for actuating said dispensing mechanism, and distributing said articles uniformly in said compartment, comprising a tine movably mounted with its pointed end arranged adjacent the lower edge of said inclined bottom wall and in the path of and opposing the used article sliding therefrom whereby said tine is moved by each passing article, a distributing impeller rotatably mounted in the path of the articles sliding from said inclined bottom and engaging said used articles subsequent to the engagement of said used articles with said tine, an electric motor driving said impeller, means arranged to actuate said dispensing mechanism and to energize momentarily said motor in response to the movement of said tine.

7. In apparatus for dispensing cloth towels, a switch mechanism actuated in response to a towel sliding down an inclined wall, comprising a tine having a sharp pointed end, means arranged to pivotally support the other end of said tine below and adiacent the lower edge of said inclined wall with its sharp pointed end extending upwardly sliding down an inclined wall, comprising a rock shaft rotatably mounted below and adjacent to and generally parallel with the lower edge of said inclined wall, a plurality of tines each having a sharp pointed free. end and having-its opposite end fast to said rock shaft to project laterally therefrom with its sharp pointed end extending upwardly into the path of said towel sliding down said inclined wall whereby said pointed ends impale said towel, a, stop arranged to limit the movement of said rock shaft in the direction corresponding to the movement of said pointed ends of said tines toward said positions, a counterweight for said rock shaft and arranged to hold said rock shaft in engagement With said stop, and a pair of electrical contacts arranged to be opened and closed in response to the movement of said rock shaft toward and from said stop.

9. In apparatus for dispensing cloth towels from a pile of towels, an indexing mechanism for a vertically movable frame, comprising an L-shaped indexing arm having one end arranged in a horizontal bearing on said frame and arranged in a generally horizontal plane and having its other end arranged above said pile of towels, means arranged adjustably to secure said one end of said L-shaped arm in said bearing against rotation thereofand to vary the elevation of said other end of said L-shaped arm with reference to said frame, a roller at said opposite end of said L-shaped arm and resting on the uppermost towel of said pile, and means arran ed Partially to counterbalance said frame, L-shaped arm and roller.

HAR E- DOS ERG,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED SIATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,277,568 Giardi Sept. 3, 1913 1,946,183 Williamson Feb. 6, 1934 1,949,283 Murtaugh, Jr. Feb. 27,, 193% 2,471,055 Asbill, Jr. May 2%, 1949 2,538,238 Evans Jan. 16, 1951 2,572,121 Dosberg Oct. 23, 1951 

